


One night in Paris

by Zireael07



Series: A kinder, gentler universe [1]
Category: Deus Ex (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:15:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24552205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zireael07/pseuds/Zireael07
Summary: Anna Navarre lives, just barely, and therefore Gunther Hermann is much less interested in tracking Denton down after his escape, considering his companion is still not back to her peak performance. Now that they are in Europe, further away from their handlers and masters, the sheer distance means they are somewhat more at liberty to do what they want and not what they are expected to do... JC Denton is the one who finds them, and not the other way around.In other words: Paris is known as the city of love, and some realizations come on the heels of near-death experiences.
Relationships: Gunther Hermann/Anna Navarre
Series: A kinder, gentler universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1780300
Comments: 3
Kudos: 2





	One night in Paris

_Paris, 2053_

JC Denton pushed open the door to a room in a shoddy hostel. The man who'd wanted the hidden zyme stash should be somewhere around... As soon as he stepped into the dark room, he realized he had the wrong room. He could hear the bed creaking, and he was fairly sure the addict did _not_ have female company over - and that he was unlikely to have any. He turned to leave, but a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.  
'I should be going...' Gunther Hermann's voice trailed off into a sigh. 'I have a mission to finish - even though there are _other_ things I'd rather be doing'  
There was more creaking and Denton could see Agent Hermann's imposing silhouette in the thin beam of moonlight the window let in. In spite of his words, the man seemed in no hurry to leave, instead dropping his head into his hands.  
'You said that a day ago and two days ago' a low, feminine voice pointed out.  
As JC's augmented eyesight grew adjusted to the low light, he could pick out Gunther's plasma gun resting against the far wall. Far enough that he could probably pick the man off before he could reach the weapon. A rickety table held two wine glasses, still partially full, and two sets of plates, both sprinkled with crumbs. Hermann's uniform jacket was haphazardly hanging over a chair's back, a fair cry from the German orderliness the man usually exhibited.  
He turned his head the other way, noting that indeed, Gunther was topless - the metallic gleam all over his torso and back was proof enough. The same gleam showed that Hermann did not have his boots or trousers on, either.  
'Stay' the woman implored, going as far as to touch Hermann's back.  
Denton could see her hand sliding over the man's shoulder in a gentle caress. He could not see the rest of her, but he could pretty much guess what she looked like - it was common knowledge that Hermann had a type and that many... paid women... discounted him, probably impressed by his sheer size or the many scars he bore, a testament to his nearly thirty-year long career as a UNATCO soldier. And considering that Paris was known as a city of love, it made sense that he'd found a companion for the night, or two, or _three_ as it seemed.  
'Stay' she repeated, more firmly this time. 'You cannot win this time'  
Hermann did not contradict her, just sighed heavily. His companion's hand tightened on his shoulder.  
'Denton almost killed _me_. Even though I used all that I had. Neither of us is a match for him. He is the _next step_ in the march of progress... and we are left behind' said she.  
JC froze. Who was this woman? From the sound of it, she probably was a mech, but he hadn't met many of those... and none of those that he'd met would be willing to... _bed_ Gunther.  
'Progress...' Gunther said, with definite bitterness in his voice. 'We were supposed to be _it_. Tougher, stronger, unbeatable. Constant, unchanged. Better. That was what I had volunteered for, back in the GSG-9. Thirty years passed... and it turns out half of it was a _lie_.'  
'Do you regret your choice?'  
Hermann shook his head.  
'How could I? The augs have kept me alive for years... if not for them, I would've been dead many times over. You too'  
His hand crept up to cover the woman's, dwarfing it.  
'And you?' he asked, so quietly that Denton had to strain his ears to hear it. 'Do _you_ regret it?'  
'They have yet to fail me' the woman said confidently, and the tone of voice was enough to reveal her identity.  
'That's not all I meant' Gunther said, with another heavy sigh. 'The ghettos, the- humiliation... That's what we got, too. Strip searches whenever we leave the district. Being laughed at, kicked out of places. I volunteered as a free man, but now I will never be _free_ '  
'No?' Based on the familiar tone, JC could almost see- Anna Navarre's - eyebrow raised, even as he reeled in shock from the revelation of who Hermann's companion _was_. 'You could go home. All it takes- cross the border, and you're back in Germany. Or we could cross the _other_ border-'  
'Navarre... you do know what a killphrase is? We both have those... all it takes is a word, and it's all _over_. No, we will never be free.' he pointed out flatly.  
'We'll be halfway across the world, with no way for them-'  
'Infolinks? A single phone call... they need no cages to keep us prisoner, no _bars_...' the man's voice was bitter.  
'Infolinks can be switched off, and why would we even own a phone? Who would want to call us for a friendly chat?' Navarre's laugh was tinged with bitterness and madness.  
Gunther's hand tightened on hers, even as he said 'No one'.  
'What do you _care_ about the mission, about Denton? Let's go away- they'll never know, they'll assume you're dead- or when they do think to look, you'll already be home-' Anna's voice was suddenly back to calm and collected, even as she suggested- essentially- desertion.  
'Home?' Hermann scoffed. 'What is there for me? A little shithole village that will definitely take notice of a mech- or a pair of those- arriving. We will _not_ fit.'  
Navarre wrapped her other arm around the large man's chest, pulling him backwards onto the bed.  
'I was thinking... me and you, in the orchard, in the grass, under the trees you climbed as a _boy_...'  
JC pinched himself as Anna's voice trailed off into what was clearly the sound of a kiss. Gunther was quiet, probably lost in a vision his partner had just painted for him, and climbed back on the bed, his huge frame easily dwarfing hers. There was a muffled curse as he kicked back the bedsheets, already tangled somewhere close to his long legs, and then he settled down with a quiet sigh.  
'Would you _really_ be happy on the farm, Anna?' he pointed out after a long lull.  
She must have shaken her head, because Hermann continued after a moment. 'I knew it- I've known you for nearly thirty years, after all... We could run, and what would we then do? You would not just- stay home-' he himself found it funny enough to laugh out loud.  
Anna Navarre did not laugh. She did not have a sense of humor, after all.  
'I would figure something out. There's always the option of-' and here, her voice turned muffled.  
In the sliver of the moonlight, Denton could see Gunther's fingers on her lips, preventing her fron voicing the rest of the sentence.  
'Do not _even_ consider- ' he sounded livid.  
'What else can an _augmented_ woman do?' Navarre said 'Not that I'd be any good at it, look at how long it took me- I was looking for the perfect man, and he was right _here_ , within reach... and I didn't realize until _now_ -'  
In lieu of any more words, she pulled him closer. JC Denton was glad for the darkness, since it hid the details, but the sounds were- clear enough. He turned around and started leaving. The floor creaked and Gunther Hermann made a sound of surprise, lifting himself off his- _lover_ to-  
It was just instinct, he pressed the trigger. The gunshot was loud but not loud enough to mask the man's grunt of pain even as he listed to the side- towards the gun- Denton fired again and again. Agent Hermann gasped loudly and sank down onto the bed, stretched out halfway across, his legs tangled with the woman's, and his arm- _nowhere close_ to the edge of the bed, let alone the gun. His companion rolled him off herself, onto his back- and instead of going for the weapon herself, she pressed her hands to Hermann's chest, dark smears seeping through her fingers.  
'Gunther!' she shrieked.   
All the years of military training deserting her in that moment, Navarre turned her _back_ on the shooter, attempting to salvage enough of the bedsheets to wrap the man's wounds. JC approached slowly, still unsure what to make of the situation. Anna whirled around to face him, arms and knees spread wide, probably to shield as much of the wounded man as possible. Denton supposed that in the moment, it did not even occur to her that she was utterly, completely naked. To be honest, she made for a fairly pitiful human shield - and that thought made him move his finger off the trigger.  
'Anna, no-' Gunther's weak protest trailed off into a nasty sounding, wet cough.  
JC looked away. He switched on the light augmentation, revealing the hopelessly tangled bedsheets at the edge of the bed- a variety of clothing carelessly tossed on the floor, including a familiar-looking black vest and some- undergarments. The gun resting against the far wall had the safety _on_ and had clearly not been used in at least a couple of days, judging from the fine layer of dust. Hermann's boots and belt lay strewn beneath the bed, clearly tossed there in a hurry-  
In a normal situation, he would have finished the job- killed his enemy. Instead, he pocketed his gun and rummaged in his pockets for a medkit. He was _not_ a terrorist, and he'd just shot an unarmed, naked man in his _bed_. He opened his mouth to apologize and then changed his mind, tearing the medkit apart to find the supplies needed. He reached past the woman, intending to help, but she grabbed his arm and pulled back. This close, he could see the wild look in her eyes, a far cry from the Agent Navarre he'd known.  
'No!' she tore the bandages out of his hand and started applying them herself.  
Denton noted her hands did not shake. Whatever turmoil she felt only showed in her face and voice. He watched her bandage Hermann's torso, and then something occurred to him.  
'I'm fairly certain he'll live- and I heard some of the- conversation... If you- we- can make UNATCO think he's dead, he'll be free to start a new life...' he was very definitely NOT thinking of Paul as he said that, no, nope - thank fuck they couldn't _read_ his mind.  
Anna stared at him distrustfully, only a shade away from openly hostile. Gunther lifted himself on an elbow with a grunt, his red eyes blazing in the darkness.  
'We?' the German asked, scepticism written all over his face. 'Why offer to help after sh-' was as far as he got before another cough shook his massive frame.  
'I have my reasons- and I'm _sorry_ , I thought you were reaching for the gun, Agent Hermann...' JC let his voice trail off into silence. 'We needn't be enemies-'  
Denton forced himself not to flinch as the two mechs appraised him and lifted his hands, open palm up, as though he were trying to calm down a furious cop- or a _wild_ animal.

**Author's Note:**

> This has been percolating around my mind for at least a week, but I only now found enough time to write it down. I realize there are parallels to the current situation in the US, but they are largely unintended - the worldbuilding, background details (including the treatment of the augmented part of the general populace) shared by all my DX stories are an extrapolation from the DX Bible, and have been in my notes for months. The backstories for Anna and Gunther are also shared between all of my stories :)
> 
> The part about not being free is inspired by https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SwTX9M7Ss0&list=PL9H-oYsI40xb7gcRVeZ9cTWamY7kWDPV9&index=17, around 9:30 mark Gunther and the implications of his mech-aug status are discussed.
> 
> Similar to my other canon-era AU, the main story (Navarre & Hermann) didn't happen in that universe - they have been strictly professional colleagues in UNATCO for 24 years (Gunther is overstating it :P ) by the time 2053 rolls around.
> 
> Oh, and I am almost certain the light Denton's augmentation produces cannot be perceived by other characters in the game - even if it makes little sense, hey, it's nanotech, sky's the limit!
> 
> I am fairly certain there's going to be a part 2 - i.e. making UNATCO think Gunther is dead, with all the implications of that - but no promises on how soon it rolls out ;)


End file.
